#Worldtour: Iguazu Falls, a wonder of nature
After a flight from Mendoza to Iguazu, here we are in the very north of the country, on the border with Brazil and Paraguay, in a tropical climate. On the programme: the falls on the Brazilian side one day and the Argentinian side the next. We usually say to do it in that order, as we start with the most global view and finish with the close-up.
In fact, 80% of the falls are in Argentina and only 20% in Brazil. They were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984 and we read that they were discovered by a Brazilian explorer in 1542, Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca. In all, there are 275 jumps (!) and the highest is 82m, the Devil's Gorge.
Visit the Brazilian side of Iguazu Falls
We did the classic panoramic walk, which is a real eye-opener, and as we'd finished quite early, we thought we'd take a closer look at the falls... by boat! We set off on an excursion through the tropical jungle to reach the edge of the Rio and board the boat. We weren't disappointed: magnificent scenery at the foot of the falls, guaranteed thrills on the boat in the rapids and, above all, a full shower under the waterfalls!
The Argentinian side of Iguazu Falls
On this side of the falls, the paths offer more opportunities to walk through the tropical jungle, but we started with the mythical Devil's Throat by taking the little train. The sound of the waterfall and the fact that you can't even see the bottom of the waterfall because of the drizzle coming off it was so impressive. We then took the "upper" circuit, which offers a magnificent view of the falls, and finished with the "lower" circuit, which passes at the foot of the falls.
During our walks, we also saw a few animals, including a small alligator, birds, lots of very large butterflies, lizards and, above all, quachis.
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Discover the ruins of the Jesuit missions
A 5-hour bus ride south of Iguazu, we stopped for a day in San Ignacio. In the province of Misiones, there are many ruins of former Jesuit missions, 4 of which were declared UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1984: San Ignacio Miní, Santa Ana, Santa Maria la Mayor and Nuestra Senora de Loreto.
We wandered around the town, which is quite nice, but the main attraction is the ruins of the Jesuit mission. The mission was founded by the Society of Jesus in the early 17th century with the aim of spreading their religion among the indigenous people (the Guaranis), educating them and protecting them. With a little more information, we understood that the Guaraní chiefs had made agreements with the Jesuits because Portuguese bandeirantes (adventurers) would have enslaved them if they had found them.
Within the mission, also known as a "reduction", there was a hierarchy mixing Jesuits and Guaranis, the Jesuits learned Guarani and taught Spanish, in short, cohabitation went rather well. The Guaranis even had to adopt monogamy. There were also a few minor rebellions and some returned to live outside the mission.
The Jesuit missions came to an end when they were summoned by royal order to leave America in 1768.
Ruins of San Ignacio Miní
Restoration began in 1940 and this is the most "touristy" mission, as it is the one that has been rebuilt the most.
Ruins of the Mission of Santa Ana
A 10-minute bus ride from San Ignacio and a 30-minute walk, we went to see this mission as we had time before catching our bus. We were right to do so, because although it is identical to San Ignacio Miní in its organisation of buildings, the ruins are totally different as there has been no reconstruction. The aim is to preserve the ruins for the future (a natural conservation method) and to allow for more comprehensive archaeological research in the future. It leaves a wilder area and we thought that was really nice!
Anne & Olivier
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